Legislation will allow Missouri to review health insurance prices

The bill could improve transparency in the state’s individual insurance market, supporters say

Insurance News

By Lyle Adriano

A bill that allows the state of Missouri to review the prices of health insurance plans before they are implemented was approved Tuesday by the Legislature.

The original bill was sponsored by state Rep. Charlie Davis, R-Webb City, Rep. Margo McNeil, D-Florissant, and Rep. Bill White, R-Joplin. It was then folded into a similar Senate bill by Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville.
The measure is now currently awaiting Gov. Jay Nixon’s final approval.

Under the legislation, insurers offering small group and individual health insurance plans must submit their rates to the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration for review. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that insurers must accomplish this for plans starting Jan. 1, 2018 and onward.

Most other states have their own system of rate reviewing, requiring insurers to disclose their proposed prices for health insurance plans before open enrollment. State insurance regulators then review the prices and the justifications for such costs, determining if the rates are reasonable. A number of state insurance regulators even have the authority to deny rates found unreasonable.

The bill that passed the Missouri Senate does not give the state the authority to deny rates, but advocates claim that it at least encourages competitive pricing. It also allows the public to provide feedback regarding the pricing.

“There will be transparency and accountability in the small and individual market for how premiums are set,” said St. Louis University health law professor Sidney Watson. “We’ll also start to get information on why we have premium differences across the state.”

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